Feijóo accuses Sánchez of encouraging pro-Palestinian riots at the Vuelta a España

Amid spiraling political tensions, the Popular Party, led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo, did not hesitate yesterday to condemn the actions of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, accusing him of encouraging the pro-Palestinian protests that boycotted the finish of the Vuelta a España in Madrid and led to police charges in the city center. In total, 22 officers were injured and two people were arrested. Meanwhile, the Government Delegate in Madrid, Francisco Martín, estimated the number of protesters at 100,000.

Hours earlier, during a PSOE event in Malaga, the Prime Minister had expressed his "absolute respect for the athletes" but, at the same time, his "admiration for a people like the Spanish who mobilize for just causes like Palestine." This, in the afternoon, escalated into protests of such magnitude that the final stage of the race was forced to be canceled.

Once the boycott was finalized, Feijóo accused the government of having "allowed and induced the non-completion" of the cycling race, which he described as a "televised international ridicule." The PP leader insisted on his rejection of Hamas, but also stated that he did not share Israel's response to the terrorist attacks they suffered in October 2023: "That is my way of defending the majority position of a civilized nation," he said in his statement.

Israeli Foreign Minister criticizes Prime Minister for inciting protesters

Along these lines, Madrid's president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, pointed to Sánchez as "directly responsible" for the disturbances for encouraging "kale borroka." And the mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, lamented that "violence had triumphed over sport" after the "very irresponsible messages of some political leaders."

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also spoke out, criticizing Sánchez for his remarks after he "regretted a few days ago that he didn't have an atomic bomb to stop Israel."

None of this, however, changed the PSOE's position. Its organizational secretary, Rebeca Torró, reacted by stating that "the streets of Madrid raising their voices against barbarism don't ridicule the image of Spain: they honor it." "If you're more outraged by the suspension of the Vuelta a España than by the 60,000 Palestinian lives taken, you should take a hard look. It's called humanity," she added, clearly alluding to the PP leader. Sumar completed the round of reactions on the left by thanking the protests for "raising their voices in the face of genocide" and in the face of the "passivity" of the European Union.

The boycott of the cycling race monopolized some of the attention, but it wasn't the only front between the government and the opposition. On a day marked by tension, Sánchez and Feijóo squared off on other stages, with conflicting messages and a staged display that confirmed the path toward an increasingly bitter confrontation dominated by disqualification.

From Málaga, the Prime Minister attacked the opposition for what he described as a debasement of public debate after Feijóo promised that, with him in power, "the pimps and the tweeters will leave the Ministry of Transport."

"Not only do they practice bad politics by not having any proposals, but they are also demolishing what was built with great effort after the 2008 crisis," said Sánchez, speaking in the plural because, in his opinion, "the PP and Vox have blended together to the point of being indistinguishable." "They only vote against the general interest and the social majority of this country," he exclaimed, recalling the Popular Party's rejection of issues such as labor reform and pension revaluation.

Specifically, trying to differentiate himself from Vox, Feijóo deployed a battery of measures in Ciudad Real to catapult the Spain of the agrarian villages and thus try to attract the important rural vote.

With his ten-point plan, which highlights criticism of the government's environmental policies, the Popular Party leader sought to amend the PSOE's policy and the management of Luis Planas, whom Sánchez defined as "the best minister for the Andalusian countryside" in contrast to climate change deniers.